Conflict Behavior Research Articles

The U.S. Withdrawal from UNESCO under the Reagan Administration: A Multilevel Analysis

The United States positions itself as a global leader and upholder of the world order whose pivotal role in the system of international relations is legitimized through its active participation in multilateral institutions. At the same time, it was the United States which resorted to unilateral actions more often than any other state, exerted significant diplomatic and financial leverage on international organizations to achieve its national interests, undermining the very principle of multilateral cooperation. This inconsistency has been most clearly manifested in the U.S. conflict behavior towards UNESCO — an integral part of the UN system, which focuses on addressing the global issues of the present. In terms of providing a better understanding of the logic behind the formation of the U.S. policy towards this organization and to the UN in general, the case of the first U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO in 1984 under the Reagan administration is of particular interest. On the basis of K. Waltz’s methodology of multilevel analysis the article reconstructs the chronology of the decision-making process, identifies its internal and external determinants, and outlines its key actors. The first section focuses on the systemic constraints that forced the Reagan administration to reconsider its attitude towards the UN system in general and UNESCO in particular. The second section examines the domestic political determinants of the withdrawal decision, centered around the results of complex bargaining between the key players in the American political system, government agencies and interest groups. The third section outlines the motivation and politicalpsychological portraits of individual politicians who were personally interested in pulling USA out of UNESCO. In this regard, the emphasis is given to the figure of the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs G. Newell. In conclusion, the author argues that the withdrawal decision was deliberately made by ideologically motivated politicians in the Reagan administration, despite the alternative voices from Congress, a number of government agencies and civil society. It became a sort of response of the conservative-minded American establishment to changing international status quo, including the realignment of power in the UN specialized agencies.

Post Farmer-herder Conflict Management and Relief Strategies of Farmers in Nigeria

Purpose: This study shed light on the self-relief strategy employed by farmers after their experience in farmer-herder conflict.Research Method: The survey was carried out among 150 farm households headed in four farming communities. Frequency and logistic regression statistics were employed to analyze data.Findings: Findings showed that farmer-herder conflict resulted in the destruction of farm crops and insufficient food for household consumption among affected rural households. Affected rural households decided to adopt coping strategies that reduce their vulnerability by tightening farm security, preventing future huge farm loss by sowing less, and completely avoiding of risk of conflict effects with no intention to continue crop farming by borrowing money and shifting to off-farm jobs. Education/literacy of the people and causes of conflict were found to be the behavioral control factors of the farmers.Practical Implication: The study provided recommendations for rural development advisors and policymakers to inform post-conflict management and relief strategies for effective coping and adaptation responses to farmer-herders conflict victims in Africa and other developing countries experiencing similar nature of conflict.Originality/ Value: The study is novel for reporting, for the first time, the post-farmer-herder conflict behavior of farmers in Nigeria

The Mediating Role of Family Support Supervision Behavior in Work Family Conflict and Turnover Intention in Higher Vocational Colleges

The Mediating Role of Family Support Supervision Behavior in Work Family Conflict and Turnover Intention in Higher Vocational Colleges

Inter-parental conflict and empathy in early adolescence as predictors of dating violence perpetration in adolescence and adulthood.

Witnessing inter-parental conflict is associated with dating violence perpetration in late adolescence and adulthood. This relationship may be moderated by adolescents' empathy, with more empathic youth viewing their parents' conflict behavior as less acceptable, and thus refraining from dating violence perpetration. This study sought to determine if empathy buffers the effects of inter-parental conflict in early adolescence on expected dating violence perpetration in early adolescence and actual dating violence perpetration in late adolescence and adulthood. Moreover, this study tested if expected dating violence perpetration in early adolescence and dating violence perpetration in late adolescence mediate the effects of inter-parental conflict and empathy on dating violence perpetration in adulthood. Sex differences in these relationships were also examined. The sample included 412 adolescents (52% male, 73% Black, 25% White, 2% Other) who participated at three time points between 2006 and 2022 (T1-T3, Mean age = 13, 18, 28 years). Results indicated that higher inter-parental conflict and lower empathy were associated with higher expected dating violence perpetration at T1 in both males and females. Inter-parental conflict at T1 predicted higher dating violence perpetration at T3 through expected dating violence perpetration at T1 and dating violence perpetration at T2. Empathy at T1 predicted lower dating violence perpetration at T3 directly and also indirectly through lower expected dating violence at T1 and lower dating violence perpetration at T2 in both sexes. There were no interaction effects of inter-parental conflict and empathy on expected or actual dating violence perpetration at any age.

Strategic Culture and the U.S. Engagement in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Abstract The paper examines the strategic culture and the U.S. engagement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict between February 2014 and September 2024. It identifies and examines traditional elements of American strategic culture, such as the idea of American exceptionalism, the liberal philosophical tradition, internationalist foreign policy, the role of NATO and the strategy of indirect engagement, the role of public opinion and the influence of the Protestant ethic, and technical fetishism. Traditional elements of American strategic culture are reflected in and explain US behavior in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The US behavior in the Russia-Ukraine conflict confirm the pattern of continuity within the US strategic culture.

CONFLICTOLOGICAL COMPETENCE OF A POLICE OFFICER AS A CONDITION FOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY

The article considers the current problems of conflictological competence of a police officer as a condition for the effectiveness of professional activity in the process of functioning and development of the system of internal affairs bodies. For the first time in the theory of conflictological science, the author’s (A. V. Mayorov, V. V. Bazelyuk) definition and interpretation of a new branch of scientific knowledge “criminological conflictology” is given . For the first time, general requirements that should be imposed on the conflictological competence of a police officer are defined and recorded. The conceptual and categorical field of the phenomenon “criminal conflict” is analyzed . Typical mistakes of police officers in resolving conflict situations arising in the performance of official tasks are revealed . The dynamics, stages of development, models and strategies of behavior (styles) in a criminal conflict are shown . Substantial characteristics of conflict personality types are given, based on character accentuations and socio-psychological styles of behavior. Communication techniques and speech techniques that increase the effectiveness of professional actions of a police officer in the process of resolving a criminal conflict are presented. Practical methods of self-regulation of emotional and psychological states of a police officer in the context of the problem under consideration are shown. Recommendations are given for developing visual diagnostic skills and compiling a socio-psychological portrait of a subject of a criminal conflict. The result of the practical part of the study was a description of a step-by-step practice-oriented algorithm of competent behavior of a police officer in the process of a criminal conflict, adapted and successfully tested by A. P. Zykov The final conclusion is that the conflictological competence of a police officer is not only an important indicator of his professional competence, but also has a significant impact on the social assessment of the effectiveness of the law enforcement agencies.

Personality and Attachment Patterns in Patients with Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures in Saudi Arabia.

Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate personality and relationship patterns in patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) and compare them to patients with epilepsy and healthy controls. Materials and Methods: A total of 68 participants were recruited (mean age = 29.8 ± 9.4 years), including 25 (36.2%) with PNES. The assessment was conducted using the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), Big Five Inventory (BFI), Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and Conflict Behavior Scale (CBS). Results: The IQ of patients with PNES (88.8 ± 13.6) was lower compared to healthy controls (103.5 ± 28.0) but higher than epilepsy patients (84.6 ± 12.9). There were no significant differences between PNES patients and either patients with epilepsy or healthy controls in terms of security, fearfulness, preoccupation, or dismissiveness based on RQ subscale scores. PNES patients tended to be less satisfied (RAS total score, p = 0.10), but did not differ on overall life quality (on SWLS) compared to epilepsy patients and healthy individuals. There were no significant differences in the scores for different attachment styles (secure, fearful, preoccupied, dismissive) among the groups (p > 0.05). Significant differences were found in agreeableness (p = 0.017) and openness (p = 0.009) among the groups. The PNES group exhibits higher scores in Negative-Own (p = 0.009), Positive-Own (p = 0.011), Negative-Partner (p = 0.011), and Positive-Partner (p = 0.028) compared to epilepsy and healthy individuals. No significant differences observed in the Abusive-Own and Abusive-Partner scores (p > 0.05). Conclusions: In conclusion, this study highlights distinct personality traits and relationship patterns in patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) compared to epilepsy patients and healthy controls, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to address these psychological nuances effectively.

The use of haystacks by wolves may facilitate the transmission of sarcoptic mange.

Wildlife that use anthropogenic resources often come into conflict with humans, e.g. due to damaged property, habituation or transmission of pathogens, amongst them Sarcoptes scabiei, the aetiological agent of sarcoptic mange, an emerging panzootic skin disease. This study examines the use of haystacks intended for supplementary feeding of European bison (Bison bonasus) by wolves (Canis lupus)with sarcoptic mange and the potential role of this behaviour in skin parasite transmission and human-wolf conflict. Hay samples from the beds used by wolves were found to harbour S. scabiei mites, even several days after the last use. Our data demonstrate an unforeseen link between wild ungulate supplementary feeding and wolf behaviour that may lead to conflict, namely approaching human settlements. However, no negative interactions were observed between wolves and humans or domestic animals. The presence of S. scabiei mites in haystacks provides a potential for its human-facilitated environmental transmission among wildlife and to domestic animals.

Political Conflicts in Hikayat Seri Kelantan from the Perspective of Theory of Conflict Behaviour

Hikayat Seri Kelantan (HSK) is one of Kelantan’s traditional Malay historiographical texts. As a historical literary text, this hikayat comprises various conflicts involving the Malay kingdom and its external powers. However, most studies on HSK focus more on the issue of war without discussing political conflicts as a whole. Therefore, this article discusses the political conflicts in HSK by outlining two objectives, which are to elaborate on the conflicts in HSK and to analyse the causes of the conflicts according to the theory of conflict behaviour. This article utilised the HSK manuscript edited by Mohd. Taib Osman (2004) as its primary source, while data collection was done using library research. Close reading strategy and analysis of descriptive text were applied in data analysis based on the theory of conflict behaviour by Bartos and Wehr (2002). The findings of this study showed nine events of political conflicts that could be categorised into four issues, which are: (1) the issue of tyrannical reign; (2) the issue of state sovereignty from external powers; (3) the issue of territorial expansion; and (4) the issue of position and power struggle in reign. The findings also revealed that disputes over resources comprising land or territory, power, and prestige are the premises for political conflicts in HSK. This study proves that HSK is a sociocultural document that has recorded various political conflicts of the Malay kingdom in Kelantan.

A novel approach for safety assessment at unsignalized intersections: Integrating spatial metrics into postencroachment time analysis under heterogeneous traffic conditions

Objective Evaluating the safety risks at unsignalized intersections becomes increasingly complex amid conditions of dense traffic flow, a heterogeneous mix of vehicles, nonadherence to lane demarcations, and reactive driving techniques. Understanding driver behavior under such varying circumstances is crucial for accurately assessing the potential hazards present at these intersections. The study aims to assess the safety of unsignalized intersections by incorporating both spatial and temporal variables under heterogeneous conditions. Methods The study presents a new safety indicator, dynamic postencroachment time (DPET), formulated to encapsulate both the spatial and temporal variables of heterogeneous traffic. Six unsignalized intersections were selected as the study areas in Assam, India, to assess the new indicator for merging and crossing conflicts. A videographic survey of the intersections was done to obtain vehicles’ trajectory data and capture their conflict behaviors based on their position, speed, and steering angle. The peak over threshold (POT) approach of extreme value theory (EVT) was used to examine the feasibility of the indicator, and the methodology was validated using 4 years of crash data. Results The result showed that a common threshold of 0.7 s from the POT approach is sufficient to identify severe conflicts. Furthermore, the threshold level yielded a shape parameter greater than −0.5, affirming that the maximum likelihood estimates retain the standard asymptotic attributes associated with EVT. The DPET approach estimated more crashes than observed fatal crashes, reflecting its ability to capture extreme events at a lower threshold. In comparison, the traditional PET approach estimated fewer crashes due to higher values influenced by evasive actions. Graphical analysis demonstrated a strong correlation between the observed crash data over 4 years and the estimated crashes derived from the EVT models. Conclusions: Integrating spatial variables in PET analysis provides a more robust measure for conflict analysis and assessment of potential traffic conflicts at unsignalized intersections. The subsequent validation of the model with actual crash data highlights its practical applicability in enhancing road safety. The findings from the study provide a promising direction for future research and the potential for widespread implementation in traffic management systems.

Prevalence and correlates of emotion dysregulation among children and adolescents in Lebanon: results from a National Survey

BackgroundData on Emotion Dysregulation among youth in Lebanon is scarce. Given that Emotion Dysregulation is associated with psychopathology and has a negative impact on youth outcomes, there is a need to better understand the prevalence, clinical and demographic correlates of Emotion Dysregulation.MethodsThis study is a secondary analysis of the Psychopathology in Children and Adolescents in Lebanon Study which recruited 1517 youth and one parent from a nationally representative sample. Participants completed The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Peer Relations Questionnaire, Conflict Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ).Parents completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-Dysregulation Profile was used to measure Emotion Dysregulation.ResultsThe prevalence of Emotion Dysregulation was 11.26% among children aged 5 to < 8 years, 9.40% among children aged 8 to < 12 years and 6.60% among those older than 12 years. Emotion Dysregulation was associated with psychopathology across age groups and a number of correlates were identified. In the final regression models, among children aged 5 to < 8 years; Emotion Dysregulation was associated with lower odds of father employment (OR = 0.235;CI[0.078,0.704]). For those aged 8 to < 12 years old, Emotion Dysregulation was associated with acceptable school performance (OR = 2.246,CI[1.209,4.173]) as opposed to a good school performance, having a chronic physical illness (OR = 2.962; CI [1.495,5.867)], and higher parental GHQ scores (OR = 1.034;CI [1.010,10.58)] indicating worse parental mental health. Adolescents aged 12 years and older who screened positive for Emotion Dysregulation were more likely to be younger (OR = 0.688, CI[0.527,0.899]), be a bully (OR = 2.467;CI[1.036,5.875] and to have higher parental CBQ scores (OR = 1.092;CI [1.011,1.180]), indicating worse parent-child conflict. Youth who screened positive for emotion dysregulation were more likely to seek psychiatric care than their counterparts who screen negative for emotion dysregulation.ConclusionAge, school performance, parental mental health, parental conflict, chronic physical illness and bullying emerge as important correlates of Emotion Dysregulation. Findings add to the limited data on Emotion Dysregulation in Lebanon and the region and are a first step towards developing intervention and prevention strategies.

Эмоциональное выгорание и поведение в конфликте специалистов органов опеки и попечительства

&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US"&gt;The article is prepared on the basis of the results of the final qualifying work and is devoted to the study of the relationship between emotional burnout and behavior in conflict among specialists of guardianship and guardianship authorities in relation to minors (hereinafter &amp;mdash; OIP). The participants of the empirical study were 78 employees of the Department of Guardianship and Guardianship of the Department of Education of the Omsk City Administration, aged 22 to 65 years (the average age in the test sample is 40.10 &amp;plusmn; 9.69 years). The average work experience of the subjects was 12.18 &amp;plusmn; 5.41 years. The study was conducted using psychodiagnostic tools: the Thomas-Killman Questionnaire for Identifying Leading Behavior in a conflict situation, the Questionnaire for Professional (Emotional) Burnout (K. Maslach). It is shown that the statistical dependence of the features of emotional burnout with patterns of behavior in conflict is insignificant. The stage of emotional burnout &amp;mdash; &amp;ldquo;emotional exhaustion&amp;rdquo; significantly correlates with the scale of behavior in conflict &amp;ldquo;compromise&amp;rdquo;. For the other two scales characterizing the stages of emotional burnout, there were no significant correlations with the characteristics of behavior in conflict situations.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Gender Characteristics of the Psychoemotional Status of Students with Different Levels of Academic Performance

The study of the health of student youth remains one of the important areas in scientific research, since the task of higher educational institutions is not only to instill professional skills, but also to form a full-fledged personality. Neuropsychiatric adaptation is one of the keys, so it is important to identify the factors that influence its formation. 120 students of the medical faculty of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University were examined: 1) young men (n=30) and 2) girls (n=30) with high academic performance; 3) young men (n=30) and 4) girls (n=30) with low academic performance. We evaluated emotional intelligence according to the N. Hall scale, aggression according to L. G. Pochebut, the level of depression according to the Tsung test, emotional orientation according to B. I. Dodonov, level of self-esteem, style of behavior in conflict. Young men with high academic performance compared to similar girls are more likely to have a low level of emotional intelligence, high self-esteem, face mild depression, show more physical aggression, and have lower scores in communicative and aesthetic emotional orientation. Among those with low academic performance, girls, in comparison with young men, manage their own emotions worse, do not have high self-esteem, and have higher scores in communicative, hedonic and aesthetic emotional orientation. Sex differences in the psycho-emotional sphere are more clearly manifested among students with a high level of academic performance. The study of gender features in more detail assesses the psycho-emotional state of students, makes it possible to predict possible violations and timely carry out preventive or correctional measures, and, therefore, increase the success of adaptation.

He Said, She Said: a Dyadic Perspective on Adolescent Conflict Management and Dating Violence.

Physical dating violence is a widespread problem in adolescence, which often occurs during conflict escalation. Given that individual reports may be subject to many biases, including data from both partners is essential to yield a more accurate portrait of adolescent dating relationships. This study sought to examine within-dyad agreement rates as well as dyadic associations between both partners' conflict behaviors and physical dating violence using actor-partner interdependence modeling. The sample consisted of 126 different-sex adolescent couples (n = 252, girls: Mage = 17.34, SD = 1.39, boys: Mage = 17.98, SD = 1.65). Each partner independently completed an online questionnaire. The results revealed that boys and girls mostly disagree about what is going on within their relationship, and that the use of destructive conflict behaviors equally contributed to both partner's physical dating violence perpetration and victimization. Increasing youth's awareness of their own and their partner's behaviors during conflict is key in preventing conflict escalation, and ultimately reducing the incidence of physical dating violence.

Improving Parent–Adolescent Conversation to Promote Adolescent Sleep Health Behavior Change: An Open Trial of the Parent Behavior Change Intervention

The Parent Behavior Change Intervention (PBC-I) was developed to target parent–adolescent conversations that promote adolescent health behavior change. We report on an open trial of the PBC-I. Participants were 36 parent–adolescent dyads. Adolescents received the Transdiagnostic Sleep and Circadian Intervention (TranS-C) as parents received the PBC-I. Dyads were assessed at pre- and postintervention for parent use of behavior change techniques (BCT) and positive and negative conversational behaviors, parent–adolescent conflict, adolescent motivation for change, and adolescent sleep outcomes. From pre to post, parents used fewer total and types of BCTs, more positive communication behaviors, and less negative communication behaviors when discussing a sleep-related hot topic. From pre to post, parents reported decreased coercion and less anger intensity, while adolescents reported fewer parental conflict behaviors and less quantity and anger intensity during parent–adolescent disagreement. There was a pre-to-post increase in interest/enjoyment of sleep and a decrease in effort/importance to participate in TranS-C. More positive and less negative communication was associated with select adolescent sleep outcomes. Parents rated the PBC-I as highly acceptable and perceived it as useful. These results provide preliminary evidence that supports the PBC-I in improving the parent–adolescent interpersonal process, which is linked to improved adolescent sleep. The results may be relevant to conversations parents have with adolescents about a range of health behavior changes.

Роль поведения потерпевшего в правонарушениях, совершенных на бытовой почве

The article is devoted to the study of the victim's behavior in family and domestic conflicts, both in the commission of administrative offenses and criminal acts committed on domestic grounds. The scientific work analyzes theoretical approaches to the concept of "domestic crime". The author examines the characteristic features of this category of crimes. The reasons for the growth of domestic crimes and the decrease in their detection rate are highlighted, among which special attention is paid to the role and behavior of the victim. The forms of culpable behavior of the victim are subjected to a separate analysis. The article pays considerable attention to the study of statistical data and legal practice in criminal and administrative cases. Special attention is paid to the study of the impact of the victim's behavior on the high latency of domestic crimes. Based on the information received, the author makes recommendations for the prevention of this category of crimes.

A Psycholinguistic Portrait of a "Difficult" Patient

The paper presents the process of compiling a psycholinguistic portrait of a "difficult" patient. Based on the data obtained, the "difficult" patient appears as having personal characteristics, characterized by conflict behavior, including resistance to treatment, characterized by the severity of the disease, difficulties in diagnosis and treatment, on the one hand, requiring additional efforts from the doctor, and on the other – stimulating his professional growth. The results of the study can form the basis of educational trainings on medical communication, as well as mechanisms for semantic annotation of texts.

Oral behaviour during riding is associated with oral lesions in dressage horses – A field study

The welfare of sports horses is debated both within and outside the horse community. One welfare concern is the frequent occurrence of oral lesions. Lesions may be caused by inappropriate training and ill-fitting equipment. Increased knowledge of behavioural signs of pain, discomfort and frustration (often jointly labelled ‘conflict behaviour’) in horses can increase awareness by riders, trainers, officials, and competition judges, which is a first step towards reducing the occurrence. This study included 11 warmblood dressage horses competing at upper national level (Intermediaire I). The horses were randomly selected (from a total of 22 horses) for an unannounced inspection for oral lesions immediately after leaving the dressage arena. Five of the 11 horses had abrasion of the skin and/or mucosa at one or both commissures of the lips and were eliminated from the competition according to the rules of the national equestrian federation. An experienced observer who was blind regarding the outcome of the inspection, scored behaviour in the 11 horses from official video recordings available online from the event. The frequency of mouth opening ranged from 5 to 59 times in the 11 horses. Horses with oral lesions had a significantly higher frequency of mouth opening compared to horses without oral lesions (t-test, mean ±SEM; lesions: 34.6 ±6.7 vs. no lesions: 12.2 ±2.4, t(9) = 3.4, P = 0.008). The frequency of other conflict behaviours did not differ significantly between the groups (e.g. tail swishing: MWU-test, median [25;75 %]; lesions: 25 [14;27] vs. no lesions: 10 [6,24], U = 7.0, P = 0.18). It is concluded that oral behaviour may be a useful indicator of oral lesions. Further studies are needed to investigate behavioural signs of discomfort and pain in riding horses, as behaviour can be an early predictor of compromised welfare. Increased awareness of subtle behavioural signs is therefore an important first step towards improved sports horse welfare.

A Novel Brillouin and Langevin Functions Dynamic Model for Two Conflicting Social Groups: Study of R&amp;D Processes

We consider a two-group social conflict under the corporates’ research and development (R&amp;D) business processes. Conflict participants are divided into two groups depending on their attitude to new ideas, technologies, and behavioral style for R&amp;D creative problems—innovators and adapters. We reveal the contradiction that arises between the need to include both types of employees in one project team and their objectively antagonistic positions regarding the methods and approaches to R&amp;D processes. The proposed research methodology is based on a modern post-non-classical paradigm formed on the principles of coherence, interdisciplinarity, openness, and nonlinearity, as well as a sociophysical approach to the social conflicts modeling. We use the general theories of magnetism, paramagnetism, and functions of P. Langevin and L. Brillouin to describe the dynamics of group participants’ preferences regarding the style of conflict behavior. The analogy of paramagnetism, consisting in the orienting effect of the magnetic field, is used to describe social groups interactions that have not only their own interests, but are also influenced by the opinions of opposite social groups. A two-dimensional, four-parameter map represents the dynamics of group conflict. Modeling results show that regardless of the initial states and with certain parameters of intra-group and intergroup interactions, the trajectories eventually converge to an attractor (limit cycle) in a two-dimensional space. No non-periodic or chaotic modes are identified in the two-group conflict, which determines the controllability of the described conflict. The results of the simulation experiments are used as decision support and contradictions resolution aimed at forming the required modes of the corporates’ research and development business processes and ensuring the group participants’ cohesion and depolarization. The results of testing the model at an industrial enterprise are presented.

Do populists escalate international disputes?

Abstract Among the potentially most consequential effects of populism is its impact on countries' international conflict behaviour. However, empirical evidence about populists' approach to international disputes is inconclusive. We develop a theoretical framework focused on mobilization and personalization, which we argue are particularly relevant characteristics of populist foreign policy-making. We hypothesize that, on a conflict–cooperation continuum, a country's approach to a bilateral dispute will become more conflictive under a populist government if that dispute is strongly used for domestic political mobilization, and if decision-making on that issue is highly personalized. Conversely, foreign policy will not become more conflictive in cases of weak mobilization and personalization. We carry out in-depth qualitative within-case comparisons of non-populist and populist governments' policies in Bolivia (2002–2019), India (2004–2022), and the Philippines (2010–2022), focusing on two selected bilateral disputes per country. Drawing on a broad range of sources, including 71 expert interviews conducted in the three countries, we find that populists in power escalate international disputes if they strongly use foreign policy issues for domestic mobilization and, at the same time, strongly personalize decision-making. This finding nuances existing assessments about the effect of populism on foreign policy change.